Incline Village bear pays Mammoth a visit

August 15, 2014

By

Times Staff

A bear that went on a breaking and entering spree on Saturday, Aug. 9 and was mentioned in a Mammoth Times print edition story on Aug. 14 (p. 4) is not a local Mammoth bear, according to Wildlife Specialist Steve Searles.

Instead, the black male bear, which has both ears tagged with pink and green tags, was brought into the Eastern Sierra earlier this summer and dropped near Bridgeport.

Searles said the bear has been identified as an Incline Village bear, and was nabbed and had been tagged by Nevada wildlife personnel.

The bear made its way to Mammoth and caused some havoc on the evening of Aug. 9, breaking into sometimes occupied homes and into garages.

Searles said he and officers from the Mammoth Lakes Police Department that evening pursued the bear as it went from home to home., before Searles finally coaxed it into a tree.

Searles said that in the hour-long pursuit through town, he shot the bear multiple times with of non-lethal rubber bullets in an effort to train the bear to avoid humans.

The bear has not been seen since, Searles said.

He asked the community members that If they see a black-colored bear, about 250 pounds, with both ears tagged, this is not a Mammoth bear.

Please call Searles at 760-937-2327 or call 911 as soon as possible. The bear has little fear of humans.